


Make 'em Laugh

by Icarus (Slickarus)



Category: Spring Awakening - Sheik/Sater
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Jokes, One Shot, This was supposed to be melchiotto but I got lazy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 07:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14515584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slickarus/pseuds/Icarus
Summary: “I wonder what Gabor’s laugh sounds like.”





	Make 'em Laugh

“I wonder what Gabor’s laugh sounds like,” Hanschen said one day at lunch after staring at nothing for about five minutes.

“That’s what you were thinking about?” Otto asked, incredulous.

“Well, yes and no. Not the whole time, but then I heard it. Listen.”

They were quiet for a moment, and sure enough, they could hear Melchior Gabor’s laugh from one table away.

“Okay, so you know what it sounds like.” Hanschen shook his head.

“That, my friend, cannot be his laugh. His  _ real _ laugh. It never comes naturally, you know? Always calculated. Always condescending.” Hanschen imitated the three short bursts of snide laughter that Melchior so often produced. “See?”

“Maybe he just has a weird laugh. A weird, unfortunate laugh.”

“I want to know for sure.”

“Okay,” Otto said, sliding his chair backwards to stand up.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to make Melchior laugh.”

Ignoring Hanschen’s desperate gestures telling him to knock it off, Otto strode confidently from their near-empty lunch table to Melchior’s near-full one. At first, no one looked at him, assuming he was just passing by, so he just stood there awkwardly for a moment, hovering over Melchior’s shoulder. He began to wonder if this might not be such a genius idea after all. Hanschen was still staring at him with a tremendous amount of fear in his wide eyes.

Just before Otto could decide to walk away, Melchior turned around, aware of the presence behind him. Otto didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Did you want something, or are you just here to stare at me?” Otto heard a few snickers come from Melchior’s table mates, but he remained steadfast.

“Where do cows like to go for fun?” He didn’t have to see Hanschen to know that he was currently slamming his head into the table.

“A field, I’d assume.”

“No. A  _ moo _ seum.”

The corner of Melchior’s mouth quirked up slightly.

“How does the moon cut his hair?” Melchior raised an eyebrow.

“The moon doesn’t have-”

“ _ Eclipse  _ it.”

“Oh, I get it, because ‘eclipse’ sounds like ‘he clips’. Clever.”

Perhaps wordplay was not the way to get Melchior to laugh. This was more difficult than Otto thought it would be.

“What’s the difference between a lawyer and a mango?”

Melchior looked genuinely confused. “Is this supposed to be a joke?”

Otto shrugged. “What’s the difference between a lawyer and a mango?”

“I don’t understand.”

“What’s the difference between a lawyer and a mango?”

“I don’t know,” Melchior admitted under Otto’s unwavering gaze. Otto grinned.

“You don’t know the difference between a lawyer and a mango?”

“No, Otto, I don’t know the difference between a lawyer and a mango!”

“Well, for starters, a lawyer is usually a lot bigger than a mango.”

Melchior gaped at him in disbelief. “That’s it? That’s the joke?”

“I never said it was a joke.”

Melchior was frozen in silence for a few seconds, and Otto wondered if maybe he should give up. But then he heard a sound that he’d never heard before. It was the sound of laughter pouring out of Melchior’s mouth. It started off soft and slow, but then began to pick up until Melchior snorted and Otto felt more accomplished than he ever had in his life.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Melchior said, but it was a little hard to believe him between his peals of laughter and him gasping for breath.

Otto returned triumphantly to his lunch table where Hanschen’s jaw was still hanging open.

“Damn, I should have bet on that. You would owe me.”

“I can’t believe that worked.”

“What can I say? I’m hilarious.”

**Author's Note:**

> [My tumblr](http://thatsilvermagic.tumblr.com), and as always leave comments/kudos if ya dug!


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